What are your priorities? What's most important?

[Tiramisu]

Dd13 is bright, good child but a slow, unmotivated worker (hormones? temperment?) and sometimes I think we just don't enough have enough time to do it all. I'm wondering what others woud do in our position. What subjects would you make a priority of? What would you put on the back burner?

 

These are her classes in order of my priorities:

 

Stanford for Writing (Love it!; requires WORK)

Foerster's Algebra 1 (Love it!; requires WORK)

Latin Road to English Grammar Vol. (Needs more time than we give it)

American History with a coop (Good; reasonable work load)

Harcourt Science (Like it!)

American Geography at coop (Good, but too much homework)

Oxford-Sadlier Vocabulary

Easy Grammar

 

Our plan is to do all subjects every day except history and science. For those subjects, I've recently asked her to do two times a week on each for as long as it takes to get it done.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks,

 

Kelli

[Storm Bay]

My 13 yo isn't motivated with her studies, but the things she HAS To do every week are (and I don't have one most important in this first list as I consider all important):

 

Algebra

English (R&S some days, literature course, writing)

Science (she wants to major in biochemistry in university)

Latin (we've never been so diligent in Latin before this year.)

History (American right now.)

Swimming (phys ed but she really needs the workout to burn off steam and to feel healthy)

 

Every day, but lower priority:

Rosetta Stone German (we've been crawling through that for 4 years)

Recorder

 

Priority but not daily:

Fallacy Detective

Art (she shows talent here)

Geography (she's finishing off a book she should have finished last year)

Philosophy for Kids (because we've never got around to finishing it and I want to before she reads Sophie's World)

[Stacy in NJ]

I always make the same suggestion when this question comes up. Don't do every subject 5 days per week. Do them 4 or even 3 days per week. This way you can balance out your schedule and still complete the amount of work you need to over the course of the year. In particular, I don't think you need to do grammar, vocabulary or writing 5 days.

[Tabrett]

Why do two grammar and history/geography programs? I would choose the best of each and drop the other. That would cut down on two subjects. Also could vocabulary be done every other day?

[smilesonly]

Why do two grammar and history/geography programs? I would choose the best of each and drop the other. That would cut down on two subjects. Also could vocabulary be done every other day?

 

:iagree:

[mom31257]

My 11 yo dd isn't the most motivated either. Here's the usual requirements.

These change if we have a field trip day.

 

Bible: 5 days (not always the curriculum, sometimes just reading for ancient history)

Math: 5 days

English: 5 days

Science: 3 days

History: 4 days

Handwriting: 3 days

Reading: she spends hours EVERY day doing this!

Vocab: (starting after Christmas break) will do it 3-4 days per week.

 

We aren't starting the vocabulary program until after Christmas because she had a lot of outside obligations this fall. She began sewing, is taking piano, and has the lead role in a production at our church. I also wanted ds reading more before we started it together.

[sagira]

No experience here, but I would boil it down to:

 

Mathematics

Reading/Literature

English: Grammar, Writing, Spelling & Vocabulary

Natural Science

History

Poetry

 

Using copywork, dictation, and narrations across the subjects.

 

And extracurricular activities for fitness (e.g. a sport) and a form of art (includes music).

[LanaTron]

And which are not? Which subjects/curricula are developing important skills, including thinking skills?

 

When I keep that in mind as I'm choosing my priorities, it helps me realize what has to get done really well and what we can relax on a little more.

 

HTH

[Tiramisu]

Why do two grammar and history/geography programs? I would choose the best of each and drop the other. That would cut down on two subjects. Also could vocabulary be done every other day?

 

 

I'm really thinking about stopping Easy Grammar for now and cutting out the geography class at coop. I was so afraid of dropping that separate grammar class but now the grammar is really heating up in Latin and it seems as though its sufficient. I was under the impression that her geography class would not require homework and they would be making maps in class so I thought that would be a great supplement to American history, but it's losing its appeal with the outside time that's been necessary lately. The thing is we have the book and it could be done at home on our schedule.

 

Thank you for your suggestion!

[Tiramisu]

And which are not? Which subjects/curricula are developing important skills, including thinking skills?

 

When I keep that in mind as I'm choosing my priorities, it helps me realize what has to get done really well and what we can relax on a little more.

 

 

This is why the Stanford writing program which is literature-based, Foerster's Algebra and Latin are at the top of my list.

 

Thank you for reminding me of this!

[Tiramisu]

We spend a full day at coop every week so not much else can get done on these days. I do it for dd13 because it keeps her happy and that is very important, but it does cut into work time. At coop she does get a couple academic subjects when we are there, music, and an high-school level apologetics class which is important for her "formation".

 

Then, there are other activities that we do that usually mean we have a shorter day on Fridays. She does work when we get home but it creates stress by having the day broken up. I do these activities primarily for dd8 and dd6. If it were the actual time that were a problem, I would consider finding a way to limit these, and we've already done that to some extent already. However, I think she could still get her work done if she were on the ball.

 

Perhaps I should add that we do Religion/Bible in the morning as a family before the time that she would usually start working on her academic subjects. She also plays the violin and has recently started Irish step-dancing. These are scheduled late in the day so as not to interfere with school work.

[Heather in VA]

Just to play devil's advocate here...Your list doesn't look that unreasonable to me. Personally I don't think vocabulary programs are necessary, especially with Latin, and you could drop Easy Grammar because of the Latin as well, but you really aren't requiring more than a 13 year old should be able to handle. She's getting older and the fact that she's a 'slow, unmodivated' student shouldn't really affect what you require from her. You didn't mention any learning disabilities so slow and unmodivated have become a habit and really needs to be broken by now.

 

We go to a co-op (Classical Conversations) once a week too and yes, it makes things more challenging to fit in, but that's just what happens when they get older. It is perfectly ok to expect her to work diligently and effectively. If she goes to college that will certainly be the case and if not, she'll be expected to work effectively on a job.

 

If you determine that some things aren't necessary, fine. But don't do it because she's not getting things done when the expectations are reasonable. Bring her work up to your expectations, don't lower your expectations to what she's willing to do.

 

Heather

[Tiramisu]

:)

 

Thank you for your thoughtful response, Heather. I do want to try to do what I can to help her break any habit of laziness and encourage her to work efficiently and effectively. Ideally, that should be the highest of priorities. I'm also working to try to figure out what exactly her problem is. I know there's a problem of attention to some degree but I don't really think it's to the degree that it should keep her from being successful academically. In discerning my approach to this problem, I'd like to figure out if my expectations are reasonable and if there is anything I could do on my part. I think we're in the ball park for the most part.

 

Now, on top of everything else, my husband has carefully looked at the Latin Road and has found some problems with it...That will be another post...

 

Thanks for you thoughts, everyone.

 

Kelli

[Greta Lea]

He (14yo) is more motivated if I keep the list of subjects we are working on short. Also, he is more motivated if he can see a reason for why he is reading or doing something, even if the reason is only that he will discuss it with me later.

 

If I were you, I'd drop the Geography for two reasons. Your child is already doing history and you also feel the homework load is excessive. If YOU feel that way, I'm sure your child does too! Also, I'd drop Latin Road... curriculum.

 

My ds was part of a tutorial program for years that had loads of homework. He did it without any fuss, but he would often tell me that he didn't understand why he was having to do a lot of the homework. So often the homework was just busy paperwork to check what you got out of the reading.

 

Now that we are not doing these classes and doing everything totally at home, he rarely does "paperwork" UNLESS he is writing a short paper about something he read. Instead, he daily reads bible, history, science and literature/poetry and we DISCUSS it. Two days a week I give him a writing prompt from one of those subjects (he writes daily, but two days only are for writing something specific about this weeks reading in one of the subject areas).

 

I have found that when I keep things simple (not easy, but simple in that he doesn't have to hop from subject to subject and paperwork to paperwork all day) and MEANINGFUL he is MORE than willing to be a motivated learner.

[Heather in VA]

:)

 

Now, on top of everything else, my husband has carefully looked at the Latin Road and has found some problems with it...That will be another post...

 

Thanks for you thoughts, everyone.

 

Kelli

 

I will be looking for this post. I was thinking more about your question and while I do think your expectations are reasonable, I wonder about Latin Road. I've seen it up close but never used it so my thoughts are only based on impression. I wonder if there is unnecessary work in the program. It seems like a ton of writing to me. So I guess what I'm saying is that I think a challenging, intensive Latin program is completely appropriate for a 13 year old. I wonder if a different one would be a more effective use of your time.

 

I'll be looking for your post about the problems you have found.

 

Heather

[Greta Lea]

And at some of your other comments here...

 

If you really like the Latin Road... program, then I'd keep that and drop EG and the Vocabulary. You are getting BOTH of these with the Latin Road...program.

 

Dropping 2 programs and keeping *1* keeps things SIMPLE!:)

[Ohdanigirl]

My RA9.5, is the same. Although picks things up fast, he can take all day to work though his books. I split up the work as follows

 

Latin MWF Study flash cards each day

Singapore Math M-TH review F

Hist T/Th

Chem (finishing last years) T/Th

Gram TTHF

Writing TTHF

Art (if we get to it) F

Spanish T/TH

AO Reading daily

 

Also He reads everyday, and I may review trouble areas with him a few minutes on weekends every once and a while. He has responded great to this, and although we don't always get things done, we are not as stressed as before. This year I have even had my children drill each other with flash cards or "study questions", it works for them and they feel like big boys because of it. This kind of study in Latin and Math has also mad speed improve.

 

Good luck:lol:

Danielle

[Karen in CO]

So I won't add much to those. Simple, drop the busy work, but don't drop things just because they require writing, writing is important. I would make sure that you have time planned in at least one or two subjects to discuss topics with your dd. As my ds progressed through high school, this was the thing that we valued the most - the time we spent discussing history and literature or science. It is easy to focus on just the rigor of the material or the attitude of the student and miss out on the things that add value to the homeschooling experience.

 

The other suggestion I have is to make sure you have p.e. scheduled in there daily. As they progress through puberty, I found that daily strenuous physical activity made a world of difference in attitude toward school.

[ccmom]

My 13y/o ds is not full of motivation, but he's getting better. Right now we're focusing on:

 

1.) Math

2.) English (Rod & Staff, WriteShop)

3.) US History

4.) Science

5.) Latin

6.) PE

 

It's hard to say what is most important, but definitely math and English are an absolute must. I stay away from "busy work" and focus on the meat of every subject. I prefer Ray's Arithmetic for math because it requires application by way of challenging word problems, and it is very comprehensive. I tried Saxon this year for a change of pace because I heard so many good things about it, but I feel that we were getting more material accomplished with Ray's, so I'm going back to that.

 

Staying away from busy work and working on the core areas has been an important strategy for me. For me, this means focusing on the nitty gritty of writing, grammar, and challenging math problems (as opposed to Saxon-like drills). He works very hard and I feel that it's effective.

 

We've touched on Latin in the past, but our days were so long that I dropped the subject. We are finally picking it up again this year. He is very artistic and loves projects, so in his free time he's been working with papier mache. We also do PE once per week.

 

This seems to be working for us right now, as long as I manage *my* time properly - that is another key for me. I also have a 10 y/o ds who requires my time too, so it can definitely be a struggle when one is less motivated. However, now I am dealing with the younger brother copying what his older brother used to do as far as not wanting to write sentences, but he'll come around.

 

I can very much relate to your situation. It is not easy at all.

[byhisgrace]

I have discovered and realized that "less is more" when it comes to curriculum and the variety of subjects/topics that we try/attempt to cover.

 

The more I read on classical education, the more it confirms this. Especially in the younger grammar years!!

 

Hope that helps!!

 

Blessings, Donna:grouphug:

[Tiramisu]

Thanks to all of you who responded to my post.

 

We have decided to switch Latin programs so I don't know how this will mix things up but it looks positive.

 

I will put vocab on the back burner. I will stick with Easy Grammar, but not make it a daily requirement. It is rather repetitive.

 

I worked with her a long time today on algebra. Seeing her grapple with new concepts in Foerster's gives me hope for the future. I also love what she learning in the EPGY English course, though it does stress her out. She is easily overwhelmed with multiple things to do, but perhaps with maturity and a degree of daily discipline she will improve.

 

I appreciate all the encouragement and advice to keep it simple and meaningful. Thank you.

 

Kelli